McGrady takes pressure off fill-in point guards

By Jonathan Feigen |
December 14, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO - Finally, the Rockets seem to have come up with the solution to their turnover problems.

They still will play with shooting guards David Wesley and Luther Head posing as point guards. Rafer Alston remains in Houston with a hairline fracture in his right leg.

The trend is limited to one game. But the Rockets managed their turnover-ectomy with one simple step.

Tracy McGrady shot before someone could dribble, pass and kick the ball away. McGrady took more shots, 31, than in any game this season Sunday in Portland, and the Rockets had far fewer turnovers, just seven.

Hoist away

"Hoo, hoo, hoo," McGrady cackled, raising his voice for Wesley to hear. "That could be it. One guy takes 31 shots, less turnovers for our point guard."

McGrady has played the part. This season, he is averaging 19.9 shots. Of the league's top 10 scorers, McGrady ranks seventh in shots attempted per game. But if it takes 31 shots to make the Rockets' offense work, he seemed more than willing to do it.

The greater surprise might be that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was all for it, trusting McGrady and Yao Ming to choose good shots and happy to have anything that reduces the Rockets' penchant for turning the ball over (15.6 per game this season, but just 12.3 in the three-game winning streak).

"That's a good thing," Van Gundy said. "If he and Yao are getting quality shots, no matter how early in the shot clock, that will be good offense for us.

"Tracy obviously is a huge part of all we do."

The Rockets had fewer turnovers than their opponent for just the fifth time this season Sunday. They are 4-1 in those games.

But beyond the improvements since the loss to Memphis, when they had 22 turnovers and did everything else as poorly, the Rockets seem to be making it work with their makeshift point guard rotation.

In the past three games, Wesley has 14 assists and four turnovers. Head had nine assists and five turnovers. With McGrady to initiate or finish the Rockets' offense, and sometimes to initiate and finish their offense, the Rockets have been more efficient and prolific.

Wesley settling in

"I think each game, I'm getting more comfortable getting the team into the offense," Wesley said. "Handling the ball in the backcourt, guys running after me, hawking me, pressuring me; I'm getting a little more comfortable.

"I still don't do things the bona fide point guards do, but I'm happy to get us where we're supposed to be, get us organized."

Head's turnovers were as much on passes as opposed to when handling the ball as a fill-in point guard. But like everything else with the Rockets' offense, he said making the correct decision on passes has gotten much easier since McGrady has been back.

Head games

"Coach put me in a different position so I'm trying to just try my hardest to just do my job," Head said. "I think about getting the ball to the right people. We have Tracy and Yao on the team, so they get most of the attention. There's usually somebody open.

"We swing the ball to the open man, but when you see Tracy, it's pretty good to get him the ball."

That would be the right open man. Head might be a rookie, but he knew that much. If the Rockets were unsure how to make their offense work without McGrady, they seem to have no doubts now — as long as they don't turn the ball over.

"I think everybody understands their role," McGrady said. "We're playing smarter basketball. We're not turning the ball over as much. Those guys are doing a heck of a job working at trying to run the point guard position — and we're making shots. That always helps. With the defense we play, if we're making shots, things will turn around.

"But that didn't feel like 31 shots. It surprised me at the end of the game I had 31 shots.

"Hey," Wesley boomed back toward McGrady. "(The Lakers') Kobe (Bryant) gets 30 every other night, so I'm happy to be on your team."

Of course, if it works, McGrady might hoist it 30 times more often. But if the Rockets can keep their turnovers in single digits, there would be plenty of shots to go around.

ROCKETS SUMMARY

Speaking of Stan

Speaking for the first time about his brother Stan Van Gundy's stepping down as Heat coach and Pat Riley's decision to succeed his successor in Miami, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy chose his words carefully when he offered words at all.

"I'm happy that Stan's happy, and secondly, he did a great job, and he should be very proud of what he accomplished there," Van Gundy said.

Jeff Van Gundy said he was unaware of the public debate about the veracity of his brother's insistence that he was not pushed out. Asked about Stan's comments about their conversations, Van Gundy said, "Those two things are what I have to say."

Van Gundy also would not comment about Riley, with whom he coached in New York.

"I don't have anything to say," Van Gundy said.

Anderson hurting

The Rockets did not leave their health problems at home, though the latest injury — guard/forward Derek Anderson's bruised right knee — seems less serious than the series of injuries that have plagued the team since training camp. Anderson bruised the knee diving for a loose ball in Portland and is questionable tonight against the Warriors.

"He banged his right knee and it's sore and swollen," Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. "If the swelling goes out, he'll be fine. He was a lot better (Tuesday) than (Monday). He's probably a game-time decision."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said that if Anderson is unable to play, rookie Stephen Graham, signed Saturday, could see playing time tonight.

Not so fine

Had he known the Rockets would be fined for spending time on their road trip in Las Vegas, Rockets Jeff Van Gundy said Tuesday he would have just brought the team home before heading to Portland. After Thursday's game in Sacramento, the Rockets went to Las Vegas before continuing to Portland on Saturday.

"First of all, I knew it was illegal to go anywhere in the summer, like Minnesota did, and practice as a team," Van Gundy said. "That's obviously illegal.

"I had no knowledge that going to Las Vegas in season as part of a road trip violated any league rule. ...

"I'm not sure where the improper benefit is. We would have gone someplace else. I guess we could have gone to other NBA cities, but not to Vegas. I'm not sure. We would have (flown home to Houston) because it's hard to stay sharp on the road when you're not playing. We wanted ... from the summer to mitigate the downtime on the road to stay sharp, and if we could give our players something enjoyable, I was happy to do it. I tried to keep it a surprise to the players. I was surprised that was a fine-able offense."

The National Basketball Players Association said it would file a grievance over the $100,000 fine.